


A Healing Nation is Full of Surprises.

by polyamorous_polytheist



Category: The Merciful Crow Duology - Margaret Owen
Genre: Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Lesbian Character, Multi, Non-Canon Relationship, Plague, Post-Canon, Sabor (The Merciful Crow), Team as Family, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29377281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polyamorous_polytheist/pseuds/polyamorous_polytheist
Summary: After the Phoenix Castle fell, Fie returned to the roads, this time with Tavin at her side. Sabor is different and a little less cruel now.(Alternative Title: Five Times Fie is Surprised by How Sabor Heals)
Relationships: Bawd/Original Female Character, Fie/Tavin, Jasimir/Khoda, Lakima/Original Female Character, Varlet/Madcap, Viimo/Wretch





	1. Surprise One

**Author's Note:**

> I know that like no one is going to read this because the Merciful Crow Duology is a relatively new set of books, but whatever. This is just a quick set of one-shots I threw together to get out all of the thoughts I had about this series. If someone is reading this, enjoy! :)

Really, Fie should have seen it coming. She should have been prepared. She should have made sure they had enough equipment. She should have seen it coming, and yet, it blindsided her.

Her band had barely left Dumosa when the first beacons went up, silent smoke drifting up above a small farming town. Some of the new crows had been nervous, glancing between one another and trying to appear small.

Madcap had grinned, “Let’s go try this whole “proper mercy” thing, Chief.”

Fie sent them a dirty look, “And what if they deserve to die?”

Madcap shrugged, “Then you’ll do what we always have.”

The new crows noticeably shifted away from them. Varlet, the unrepentant little flirt, shifted noticeably closer. Fie tried not to roll her eyes.

“Madcap, why don’t you just get _The Lad That Crossed the Sea_ , going?” Tavin asked. Fie considered elbowing him in the stomach. She loved him, but not enough to endure hours of Madcap’s off-key singing.

The other crow grinned and started up the profane song. The new crows looked positively scandalized. Fie snickered and tucked her hand into Tavin’s. He kissed the top of her black curls. Somewhere behind her, Bawd wolf-whistled. Fie not-so-discreetly flipped her off.  
Blessedly, Madcap had only managed to get to the fourth verse of _The Lad That Crossed the Sea_ by the time they arrived at the town. Shoulder-height wheat grew on either side of the path leading up to the small wooden gate that opened into the village. A young sparrow boy was perched atop the fence, staring at them with wide eyes.

He swung down and ran up to greet them, “Is it true? The palace is gone? Prince Jasimir is going to allow all the castes into the government? Is it true? Can you cure the Sinner’s Plague?”

Fie’s head spun at how quickly news had traveled from the capitol. It had been less than a moon since the Phoenix Palace had been toppled, and already peasant boys knew the details.

One of the new crows, Toyin, a former sparrow, nodded quickly, “It’s all true. Except Jasimir is not a prince anymore. There will be no more princes.”

The sparrow boy’s eyes widened impossibly, and he jumped up and down excitedly, “So you can heal Mr. Langdon?”

“Does he deserve it?” Fie asked, seriously.

The boy turned to look at her, “Yes! Mr. Langdon is the bestest in the whole village. No one can even think what he did to get the plague. You’ve gotta heal him!”

“Why don’t you take us inside?” Toyin asked softly.

Fie nodded to her. She was adjusting well to crow life and her gentleness with children had been something of a boon thus far. Toyin blushed at her approval and attempted to sink in on herself; old sparrow habits died hard.

The sparrow boy opened the gate and hurried into the village. It was a small place with maybe a dozen homes and more cattle than people. If they were lucky, one of the villagers would have butchered one for viatik.

The villagers paused in their daily rituals as the crows entered their village proper. An older gentleman approached them hesitantly. He was a practically ancient peacock and it surprised Fie that he wasn’t hiding his wrinkles beneath some illusion.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” He said, voice rattling in his throat.

Fie nodded, “We go where we’re called.”

The man smiled sadly, “That you do. The quarantine hut is right over there, beneath the big oak tree. We thought the dying might appreciate the shade.”

Fie’s eyes softened. It wasn’t often that a village actually took into consideration how the plague victim would feel. Usually, they were in too much of a hurry to kill them.

Fie slipped inside the hut, which was really more of a tent than anything else, and smiled softly at the man resting inside. The Plague hadn’t consumed him fully yet. He even gave her a little wave. The Sinner’s Brand had made itself known across his cheek and neck.

Fie approached him cautiously. She considered retreating and ordering Tavin to join her in the hut. How did she decide if this man deserved the Sinner’s Plague?

“Can I... uh, touch your teeth?”

The man looked startled, “What for?”

“It allows me to see your memories. To decide if…”

“If I deserved the Plague.”

She swallowed and looked away, “Yeah.”

For a moment, relative silence fell over the hut.

“Okay.”

Fie looked back at him, “Really?”

He shrugged, “It’s my only chance at you not killing me isn’t it?”

She took a deep breath and approached the man. He struggled to sit and parted his lips. His hot breath spilled over her hands and she pretended her hands weren’t shaking. She sparked an owl tooth on her chain and gently touched one of his middle teeth.

The owl scholar’s voice filled her for a moment, _“What are you looking for?”_

She hesitated, trying to figure out what to demand, “Show me if he deserves the Plague.”

His memories surged through her. She panted. Slowly, she pulled her finger from the man’s mouth. For a moment, they looked at each other. She wiped his saliva on her pants. She spun on her heel and left the hut.

Tavin was next to her immediately with a bucket of water for the blood. She waved him away and approached the rest of the crows. She smiled softly at her band, “We’re going to try to give him true mercy.”

Wretch nodded at her approvingly, “What do we do, Chief?”

Fie grabbed her tooth bag and fished around in the different compartments. One tooth from every caste. Slowly, she passed the teeth out to her band. She kept the phoenix tooth for herself. Little Witness said it best, she’d always been too fond of her fire.

The villagers kept their eyes on the twelve crows as they re-entered the hut. Langdon tried and failed to keep the fear out of his eyes. Fie slipped into her Safe voice.

“Langdon, we’re going to take the Plague from you. We’ve not done this before, but you’ll be alright.”

Relief flooded the man’s hazelnut eyes, “Okay. Do it.”

Fie directed her crows in a circle. Fie shuddered. They could not mess this up. She sparked her tooth. It caught like a fire. She could feel the hum of the other eleven teeth in her brain. She could feel Madcap’s tight grip on his crane tooth. She could feel the way Toyin was rolling a sparrow tooth against her palm.

The energy roared around her. She took a sharp breath. Her band was focused on her. Focused on making this work. Focused on feeding the crows. The teeth stopped singing in random off-key notes. They fell together like a choir. Fie felt electrified.

“Welcome to our roads, Cousin,” She yelled. It was horrible and loud to everyone who wasn’t a crow. To everyone who couldn’t feel the thrum of the tooth-song in their blood. The energy stopped. One by one, the twelve teeth flickered out.

The Sinner’s Brand had vanished from Langdon’s neck. He touched the place it had been in quiet awe. He smiled up at them, starry-eyed.

“I guess I call you Chief now, yeah?”

The nervous energy disappeared. Wretch helped Langdon to his feet. Madcap clapped their hands and laughed. Toyin held the flap of the tent aside and thirteen crows stepped out into the village proper. People cheered. Fie felt more powerful than she’d ever felt before, and she had destroyed the Phoenix Castle.

When they stopped at the cart they had brought to carry Langdon’s corpse away, Tavin laid his head on hers and kissed her forehead, “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever seen. Both with clothes and without.”

Fie scoffed and kissed his throat, just below his Adam’s apple. Someone cleared their throat. Fie considered ignoring them. She pulled away from Tavin. He kept his arm firmly around her shoulders. The interrupter was a young pigeon woman. There was a rope in her hand that led to a pair of oxen pulling a large cart. She smiled warmly.

“Thank you, Chief. Thank you so, so much. You can’t even imagine how grateful my daughter and I are.”

Fie nodded, “Of course. Is our viatik in the cart?”

The pigeon woman smiled, “Well, the whole cart will be coming with us.”

Tavin narrowed his eyes, “What?”

The pigeon woman tilted her head to the side a bit, “Well, I’m coming with my husband. We won’t be coming back, I imagine, so I packed up all our food, some clothing, and my sewing materials when I saw y’all going in to heal him.”

“Ma’am- “

“With all due respect, Chief, you won’t stop me,” she pointed to Tavin, “he was going to join your band even before he was a crow, yes?”

Tavin nods hesitantly.

“The you have no problems with a mixed-caste band. My daughter and I will be joining my husband on your roads.”

“The roads are not a place for children,” Fie said.

“Then Jasimir had best get to work on making it safe. In the meantime, I trust you to keep us safe, Chief. I’m Ninya, by the way. My daughter, Lani, is in the cart. We may not be witches or crows, but I can cook a mean stew and I know first aid and how to sew. I’ll be useful, Chief. I promise.”

Ninya didn’t wait for an answer. She gave a tug on her oxen’s rope and fell in line behind the body cart. Langdon embraced her and kissed her hard. His daughter, maybe seven years old scampered out of the cart and hugged his legs.

“How do I stop this?” Fie asked.

Tavin considered for a moment, “You don’t. We let them stay. They’re part of our band now. This is good, I think. Sabor is beginning to heal.”

“There’s never been non-crows in a band before!”

Tavin raised one eyebrow, “So are Lakima, Khoda, and Jas not part of your band?”

She sighed deeply and gave the fall in whistle. Tavin fell in behind her and Fie lead her band, now three people larger, back to the flatway.


	2. Surprise Two

By the time Fie’s band returned to Dumosa six months later, said band had grown considerably. Her band now included close to twenty crows, three hawks, a pigeon, an owl scholar, and a peacock. It was intense, going from leading half-a-dozen close members to leading twenty-four half-strangers. She was grateful for Tavin. He had way more experience organizing people than she did.

Jasimir met them at the gate. His hair had grown, but he had abandoned the royal topknot and wore it in loose waves. Khoda was standing sheepishly to his side pretending that Jas’s hands hadn’t just been in his hair.

Jas hugged Fie so hard she thought her ribs might crack. He’d been smiling and looked happier than Fie had ever seen him. He greeted the rest of her crows, introducing himself to the ones he didn’t know. When he directed her to a space near the Well of Grace where they could set up camp, he called her Chief. It made her heart soar a bit. Khoda followed them to their camp and did not leave.

“Don’t you have an ex-prince to be blowing or something?” Madcap asked.

Khoda wrinkled his nose, “I’d be lucky to see some action for the next week while he tries to get this new government set up. You should see his journal. It’s stuffed to the brim with ideas about the set-up, the architecture, what each caste needs to be comfortable. He takes it with him everywhere.”

Tavin laughed, a deep hearty one that made Fie long for a quiet moment, “Sounds about right. He seemed really dedicated when we left.”

Khoda rubbed a hand over his face, “You have no idea. The number of times I have to force him to go to bed cannot be healthy.”

Fie couldn’t help but smile, “At least the other castes are willing to listen to him.”

Khoda nodded, “We got the final confirmation on who the peacock representatives would be yesterday. He was ecstatic about it. Speaking of representatives, which three crows will be staying here?”

Fie paused, “I…I don’t know. We can’t exactly take a break on Sinner duty to have a quick election. I was hoping we could just choose once all the bands are here.”

Khoda nodded, “You should have time to take care of it before the feast tonight.”

A dove walked into their camp. Doves weren’t an exceedingly rare cast, but they were typically kept in upper-caste dwellings like pets. Their artistry could put whole cities on the map and influence thousands. Doves were kept on a tight leash. Their teeth were almost phoenix level rare.

This dove was a woman about Bawd’s age, maybe a bit older. She had a thick leather satchel over one shoulder and a bright pink bird perched on the other one. Her hair was intricately braided and fell onto her in long waves. 

The crows were decidedly nervous of her. Her sky-blue eyes scanned the camp and landed on Fie. She grinned and approached; hand outstretched. Fie took it carefully. She could feel Tavin watching them for signs of malice.

“Fie, right? I heard a lot about you from Lakima.”

Almost instantly, the crows relaxed.

Tavin grinned, “Where do you know Lakima from?”

The dove blushed, “Well, ah. We’re engaged. It was an arranged thing, you understand. But we sort of fell in love anyway.”

Fie gaped, “Lakima was engaged while she was with us?!”

The dove shook her head, “No! Shortly after you sorted out Dumosa, Lakima returned to Trikovoi for some reason or another. My parents decided that she was a good choice and Druga agreed so…”

“Druga can force her soldiers into marriages?” Tavin asked, skeptical.

“She doesn’t. Not usually, but my parents have considerable military influence, so it was a necessary evil to secure power for Jasimir’s new government,” The dove explains.

Tavin tensed at that, “Are hawks rebelling against the new government?”

The dove sighed, “Someone from _every_ caste, except crows, is rebelling. It’s nothing major and nothing will come of it but uniting the military against possible uprisings is a precaution worth taking. Enough of this dreary political talk. I’m sure there will be plenty of time for that this solstice. I have a gift for you, Chief Fie. And for the other chiefs too, but they’re not here.”

The dove undid the laces holding her satchel closed and reached inside. She produced a beautiful black necklace made from thousands of glassblack beads. Little loops of thread dangled at regular intervals from the main collar portion.

“It’s for your teeth,” The dove explained, “you can use the thread to attach whatever you need to it. I just thought that, since we want everyone in Sabor to perceive you guys differently, a little dovecraft might help?”

Fie stared at the necklace for a long, long time. It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen, and it was being offered up to _her_ just like that. She choked on her “thank you” as she took it from the dove’s soft hands.

Tavin laughed, “Thank you. She loves it, which is why she’s completely unable to form words right now. She gets like that.”

Fie prayed to the gods that no one else would pick up on his inuendo. At least the dove didn’t seem too.

The dove grinned, displaying a gap between her front teeth, “I’m really glad you like it, Chief Fie. I’m Pike by the way. I just realized I hadn’t properly introduced myself.”

Fie wrestled her words back under her control, “Right. Thank you. So much. The other chiefs will love them, I’m sure.”

Pike blushed and looked away, “Thanks. I’m going to go wait for Lakima. She’s coming in with the hawk delegation.”

“It was nice to meet you, Pike. Don’t be shy about coming around, okay?”

The little dove smiled, “I won’t be. Trust me. Plus, Lakima will probably want to see you guys.”

She turned and strutted away from their camp, hips swaying slightly. Fie ran her thumbs over the intricate beadwork. Stunning didn’t even begin to describe it.

Hours later, Jasimir complimented her on the necklace as he sat down beside her at the feast, “I like the necklace. Pike was very excited about giving them out when she got here, and it looks great on you.”

Fie blew at a fly that had landed on her upper lip, “I’ve never had dovecraft before. It’s strange. Feels different than regular beads.”

Jas nodded, “Yeah. Dovecraft clothes are like that too. It’s a _really_ weird feeling at first.”

Viimo sat down next to Jas. She smiled warmly, greying hair falling into her eyes, “It’s good to see you again, Fie.”

Fie bit her tongue. Viimo acted like it had been eons since they had been enemies. Sure, it had been nearly nine moons, but still. Viimo was undisturbed by Fie’s silence.

“I’ll be working with Wretch now, so I thought I should stop by for dinner.”

Fie hated that. _Viimo_ would be closer to Wretch than she would after Fie’s band left. It made sense that Wretch had been one of the three crows selected to represent them on the new government. She was older than most crows and knew the roads better than anyone. Plus, she was a part of Fie’s band and that alone was enough to convince some crows of her qualifications. Fie should have been happy that Wretch could have a few peaceful years before retiring to one of the crow shrines. She wasn’t. She refused to answer Viimo.

It wasn’t until she watched Wretch hug Viimo with so much force that she was lifted off the ground, that Fie’s suspicions begin to abate. The two made it no secret that they were holding hands when they sat down again. Fie almost scolded Wretch. As her chief, she could have. Wretch was akin to her mother and the words died in her throat.

Her worries about Viimo retreated when Tavin grabbed her hand and led her away from the group to spend the night curled against and inside one another in a nearby tent.


	3. Surprise Three

Tavin stilled beside her. His eyes narrowed and he scanned the forest ahead of them. Fie held up her hand and her band fell still behind them. The wind rattled the leaves against one another, a sound that brought to mind the catacombs beneath the Phoenix Palace for some reason.

“Who goes there?” one of the hawks, Simone, called.

The bushes a few yards ahead of the band rustled ominously. A masked head appeared from the bush. It was clearly a juvenile and it was wearing a traditional crow mask. Fie bristled and thought of Niemi wandering into Hangdog’s camp and leading the Oleanders right to them. She’d delt enough mercy to children that she would not hesitate if this one proved dangerous.

The fake-crow child stumbled out of the bushes and gestured to the bush. A second child wormed its way out followed by a third. Fie was somewhat impressed that they had all managed to fit in one bush.

The children looked at Fie’s band for a second. Then, they hurried up the flatway and stopped a few paces ahead of the band.

“Chief!” The first child squeaked at Tavin. Fie bristled at that.

“I’m not Chief,” Tavin replied, stunned that even a child could mistake him for Fie.

The three children all turned their attention towards Fie. The crow mask that the leader child was wearing slipped down a bit. He grabbed the peak and shoved it back onto his face, determined not to show his face.

“Chief! Chief! Chief!” The children clamored over one another in their attempts to get Fie’s attention. She hoped Tavin didn’t want kids.

“Are you lot lost?” She snapped.

The kids froze. They looked between one another. One of the kids pushed their leader forward a bit. His mask slipped again and this time, Fie caught a flash of pale skin beneath it.

“We wanna join your band, Chief! We’ve been waiting by the flatway everyday for a crow band. We wanna deal mercy! You’ll teach us, right? When you turn us into crows, will we be able to use the teeth like you do? We even gave ourselves crow names! I’m Idiot!”  
Fie and Tavin exchanged glances. One of the crows behind them, probably Bawd, Madcap or one of the new crows, Jillion.

“You’re not joining my band,” Fie told them firmly.

“We’ll be good, Chief!” one of the other two children said, “We’ve even been practicing salting our food!”

Fie dragged a hand over her face. Tavin was breathing shallowly beside her in an attempt not to laugh.

“Look, kids. You aren’t crows. You aren’t joining our band. Take those masks off before some Oleanders get you.”

Idiot smirked, “We’re not scared of no stupid Oleanders. We made a slighshot with nails from Fio- uh, Lunatic’s dad’s barn!”

The little girl, who must be “Lunatic” nodded proudly, “Yeah! We’ll kill any Oleanders that look at us funny, Chief.”

Fie looked to Tavin for help. He had nothing to offer except eyes filled to the brim with mirth. She decided that she was not sneaking away with him tonight.

“Tav, watch these, uh, things. I’ll be back.”

Fie ignored Tavin’s hearty laugh as she stalked into her band. They shifted around her, muttering and giggling. Toyin was chatting happily with Bawd towards the back of the band. She smirked when she caught sight of Fie.

“Need something, Chief?”

“Toyin, you’re good with kids. Help? How do I get them to leave? I have no idea what their doing. I’ve only ever interacted with Lani and she’s _actually_ part of my band.”

Toyin shook her head, kissed Bawd on the cheek and led Fie back to the front of the band. The ex-sparrow squatted closer to the children’s level.

“What are all your names? I’m Toyin.”

Idiot cocked his head, “That’s not a good crow name.”

“Well, that’s because it’s a sparrow name. I was a sparrow before I was a crow.”

Idiot shifted from foot to foot, “Well, I’m Idiot. She’s Lunatic and he’s Piss’n’Vinegar.”

Tavin snorted. Toyin glared at him and made a throat cutting motion. He coughed into his fist.”

“Those are very good crow names,” Toyin complemented, “but what are your _not_ crow names. It’s very important that we know those too in case we need to go undercover.”

Idiot’s eyes widened, “We go undercover?! That’s so cool!”  
Toyin nodded, “We sure do. So, what are your _undercover_ names.”

Lunatic spoke up immediately, “I’m Fiona!”

Piss’n’Vinegar answered after her, “I’m Trinth!”

Idiot grumbled something about compromising their crow identities, but dutifully answered anyway, “I _was_ Eliot.”

“I think I like those names a lot more,” Toyin said, “I think those are what I’m going to call you, okay?”  
Fiona and Trinth nodded enthusiastically. Eliot looked like someone stabbed him, “Those are our _old_ names. We’ve got better names now! _Crow_ names.”

Amusement sparked behind Toyin’s eyes, “Well, as an _actual_ crow, I think Fiona, Trinth, and Eliot are much better crow names than Idiot, Lunatic, and Piss’n’Vinegar.”

Eliot’s eyes widened, “Really?!”

Toyin nodded sagely, “Uh-huh.”

Toyin’s eyes widened and she looked worriedly at the rest of Fie’s band. Had the children done something suspicious. Had she heard the rumble of Oleanders?

“Is that plague beacon coming from your village?” She asked.

Fie narrowed her eyes. There was no plague beacon.

“What?!” Fiona yelled. She whipped around and scanned the sky, “I don’t see any beacon!”

“Well, of course not,” Toyin replied, “Only _crows_ can see beacons.”

Fie held her breath and hoped against hope the children would believe the lie. Eliot bit his lip, “Will you come to the village to make the plague person a crow?”

Toyin nodded, “Of course. Chief and I will handle it.”

Fie groaned. Of course, Toyin had roped her into this. The little ones grabbed at Toyin’s hands and practically dragged her off the flatway. Fie rolled her eyes and followed them. The children’s village was barely a stone’s throw from the flatway. A pigeon woman stomped towards them, eyes raging.

“Eliot, Trinth, Fiona; get back inside _now_. We will talk about this later. And give me that.” She snatched the mask out of Eliot’s hands. He glared at her but slunk past her into the village.

Toyin smiled at the pigeon woman, “Might want to keep a better eye on them. Tell them that Fie and I handled the “plague victim” outside the city gates. Try not to encourage that kind of behavior. Being a crow is safer, but by no means safe.”  
The pigeon woman shook her head, “We’ve been trying to get them out of this phase for weeks now. Maybe if you take this damned mask, they’ll get over it.”

Fie took the mask from her, “This is a new one. _No one_ wants to be a crow.”

The woman laughed, “The world is changing, Eater of Bones.”

She winked and retreated back into the village, shooing three little figures away from the gate.


	4. Surprise Four

The woman was old. Older than most who got the Sinner’s Plague, anyway. Her tightly coiled hair had flecks of grey in it, and her skin sagged off her hands. Her grandchild had been the one to lead Fie to the quarantine hut.

“Ma’am, if you let me touch one of your teeth, I can search your memories and perhaps cure you of the plague,” Fie told her in her Safe voice.

The woman looked up at her through narrowed eyes, “No.”

“Ma’am, please.”

She shook her head. The Sinner’s Brand on her forehead looked strange, distorted with age lines.

“No. I have lived my life, little bone thief. I am quite ready for you to lay steel against my throat and spill my blood against the soil.”

Fie cringed a bit at the slur, but tried again to persuade her, “Ma’am, I’m sure you still have _something_ you’d like to live for.”

“Of course I do! No one ever _wants_ to die.”

“Then why are you asking me to cut your throat?”

The old woman sighed, “I am the oldest person for miles. The oldest you’ve ever seen, I’m sure. You don’t need to feel guilty for this, child. I may not _want_ to die, but I am _ready_. I have lived my life. The Plague has come for me because I made shit choices. It’s okay. I’m ready to feed the crows.”

“But your children…”  
“My children are well aware of my decision. I made it quite clear to them that once I went into this hut, they would not be seeing me again. When you are ready, I’d prefer the jagged one.”

Fie’s hand fell to her hip. No one ever wanted the jagged half-sword Pa had used to deal mercy. Usually, they requested Tavin’s sword. She unclipped Pa’s sword from her belt. The woman looked satisfied and leaned back, exposing her wrinkled throat the world. Still, Fie hesitated. She could tell this was a good woman and she rather loathed to kill her.

The woman opened one eye, “Get on with it, dearie. I want to be on my pyre by noon.”

Fie exhaled a deep breath and approached the woman. The woman held out her hand and fie took it gently. With her other hand, she steadied the blade against the woman’s neck.

“It’s more calming than I expected,” The woman wheezed.

Fie pressed the blade home and with a swift slice, the woman’s head lolled back, and the life left her eyes. Her blood slithered down her throat and pooled against the top of her shirt. Her hand went lax and cold in Fie’s grip.

Slowly, Fie rose and exited the tent. The villagers were staring. They always stared. Tavin gave her a sympathetic kiss on the cheek as she submerged her bloodied hands in the bucket of icy well-water that someone had collected.

“Someone fetch her,” Fie ordered.

Bawd and Toyin scuttled forward. Toyin held the veil Fie had forgotten draped over one arm. She gave Fie a sad little smile before she disappeared into the quarantine hut. Tavin wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“You aren’t usually this distraught,” He murmured.

“Usually, they deserve to die. She begged for it, Tav. Told me she was done with living and there was no point in saving her just so age could take her. She didn’t deserve it.”

Tavin exhaled slowly and held her tighter. Bawd and Toyin returned, carrying the veiled woman between them. No blood leaked through it. Toyin, bless her, had taken to tying strips of fabric over the slice so the victim’s blood wouldn’t show in front of their families. Carefully, they laid her in the cart. Fie whistled the marching order.

“Wait!”

Fie turned and allowed her eyes to land on a young crane woman. She was holding a toddler’s hand and a baby was settled neatly on her hip. She was a strange choice to present viatik, but Fie tried not to judge.

“We want to see her off. Watch her burn,” she said.

Fie blanched. _No one_ wanted to see their loved ones burn. It was a dishonorable thing. It was a _crow_ thing.

The woman talked through Fie’s misgivings, “I know all the taboo surrounding it, but Mother deserves to have us there. She deserves to have the same funeral as anyone else. At least let my brother and my families attend. Please. We…we’ll give you extra viatik if you do.”

The rest of her band glanced about themselves. Fie could feel their eyes slowly settle onto her. She remembered something Jas had said to them months ago at the solstice: “Healing is a journey. If you gate people off, you only prolong it.” Fie nodded.

The crane woman brightened and gestured to another crane; her brother most likely. Within minutes, a large group of cranes had come to join the band. There had to be at least thirty and Fie wondered briefly how the woman and her sister-in-law had managed to push out so many gremlins in their lives.

When they were a good distance from the village, Jillian and Simone brought up large bundles of firewood and jars of flashburn. To her shock, the cranes all busied themselves with collecting twigs and branches from the surrounding wood. When the dead woman was finally settled on the pyre, the crane woman placed her hand on Fie’s arm.

“May we each place a stick on her pyre? A final goodbye? And…could my brother and I pour the flashburn?”

Fie hesitated and surveyed the gathered cranes. Some of them were crying while others stood resolute. Every single one of them held a piece of wood. Some held flowers and dry grasses. She nodded. The crane woman’s face flushed with relief.

Fie could feel her band’s awe as they watched the cranes say a final farewell to their matriarch. When finally, the final child laid his flower, the dead woman’s son poured the flashburn over his mother and her sturdy pyre. His sister took the flint in Fie’s hand and with firm strokes, set the pyre aflame.

The cranes stayed until the body was nothing but ashes. The dead woman’s daughter handed over the viatik. An entire bag of crane teeth – including _witch_ teeth, and a single golden necklace, stamped with the symbol of a long-forgotten group of cranes who had once killed a phoenix king in the name of justice.

All crows grew up hearing the story of the Grey Cranes. Legend said they had killed Jasimir’s great grandfather in broad daylight. They’d stormed the phoenix castle and tore him limb from limb because of the injustice he had allowed to rule the land. Fie had seen bits and pieces of the revolt from the teeth of cranes. She never thought she’d burn the last of the Grey Cranes.

Then again, Fie never thought the Phoenix Palace would be reduced to rubble. She never thought a mourning family would stand beside her and watch their mother burn. She never thought crows would have the protection of the government – let alone be a part of said government. For once, Fie was grateful that she was living an interesting life.


	5. Surprise Five

Tavin held her tight, hands on her hips. His body rocked softly against hers and Fie let out a pitchy moan. Tavin giggled into her hair and pulled at one of the strands. It still amazed Fie sometimes, that he was her’s. He giggled again and mouthed at the top curve of her breasts. She shoved playfully at him. She rolled off him and laid beside him, content in their combined filth for now. Tavin was still giggling.

“The worst thing,” Fie panted, “is that _no one_ would believe me if I told them you were giggly during sex.”

This pulled an all-out laugh from Tavin’s pretty lips. He reached for her and Fie allowed herself to be tucked up against his side. His chest was still shaking with his laughter. Fie smacked him on the chest and he groaned, tucking his head into her neck.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Fie.”

She kissed the top of his head, “I know. You were living a pretty miserable life before Pa slit your throat.”

He didn’t say anything to that, just continued staring at the star-riddled sky above their heads. He raised one arm and traced a nameless constellation above them. Fie grabbed his hand and held it between their bodies.

He rolled onto his side and snuggled closer to her, already descending into sleep. Fie stroked a hand through his matted hair and smiled as his breathing evened out. She stared up at the stars and fell asleep feeling better than she ever had.

They were rudely awakened the next morning by a cackling Varlet, “Whatcha doin’ Chief?”

Fie rolled away from Tavin and smacked at Varlet’s feet. He skittered nimbly away from her.

“You act innocent all you like, Varlet. Everyone can you screaming when Madcap gets their hands on you.”

Varlet didn’t look the least bit insulted, “Can you? I knew I was a screamer, but I didn’t know I was _that_ loud. On a scale of one to ten, how hot do I sound?”  
Tavin groaned beside her, “Varlet, shut the fuck up.”

Varlet cackled again and dropped a pair of clean clothes on them, “I shouldn’t have to tell you this, Chief, but we should get going pretty soon.”

Fie was already pulling her shirt on. Tavin was a bit slower on the uptake and tried to bury himself beneath their blankets. Fie nudged him with her foot once she was clothed. A few moments later, they followed Varlet back to camp. Fie ignored the amused glances thrown their way.

As she gave the marching whistle, a somewhat shocking realization hit her.

She was happy. She, a _crow_ was _happy_ in _Sabor_. It almost didn’t seem real. She grinned and glanced back at her large band. This was happiness: the roads stretched endlessly on, and she could walk them without fear. She could walk them with the people she loved. It shouldn’t have surprised her that she found happiness.

But, nevertheless, it did.


End file.
